Martin Hegner
Professor, Physics
Professor, CRANN

Biography

Prof. Hegner studied Life Sciences at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich in 1984 (CH). He received his Diplom ("master of science") degree in Cellular Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Immunology and Toxicology in 1989 and he completed his PhD thesis in 1994 with work in the field of 'Protein Translocation across Membranes' and 'Biological Scanning Probe Microscopy' at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Institute for Biochemistry in Zurich. In 1994-96 he had a post-doctoral position at the Institute of Physics in Basel in the laboratory of Prof. H.-J. Güntherodt, a pioneer in the field of scanning probe microscopy. Thereafter ('96-'99) he joined the world leading group of C. Bustamante at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Eugene, OR and then at University of California at Berkeley, CA as a research associate to acquire know-ho in the field of single molecule manipulation with optical tweezers. In 1999 he joined the Institute of Physics at University of Basel (Switzerland) as group and project leader for biological nanoscale science within the newly founded Swiss National Centre of Competence 'Nanoscale Science'. Until today he introduced several novel approaches to investigate molecular interactions with nanomechanical tools. In 2001 he received his 'venia docendi' in Experimental Physics at the University of Basel, Switzerland and in 2007 he joined the Physics faculty of the University of Dublin, Trinity College Dublin Ireland. He was appointed as Professor and pursues his interdisciplinary research in the Centre of Research on Adaptive Nanostructures and Nanodevices (CRANN) in the field of Nanobiotechnology.

Research Expertise

Projects

Title

Nanomechanical detection of noncoding RNA for diagnosis in biological fluids

Summary

MicroRNAs act at the molecular scale and influence the regulation of cellular processes. We have identified specific expression patterns of miRNA relevant to cancer, and infectious diseases and adverse drug effects. We will integrate novel label-free technologies across multiple disciplines to create smart diagnostic systems that significantly improve the identification and prognosis of diseases. Nanomechanical sensing can selectively analyse these molecules in complex biological fluids and offers previously unexplored non-invasive, rapid and more sensitive diagnosis, monitoring and prognosis of diseases than current biopsy-based sample collection involving sequencing, amplification and labelling of biomarkers.

Nanobiotechnology provides unprecedented insights into biological processes (e.g. observing a single molecular-motor at work). In addition, advances in nanotechnology allow new devices to be designed that will result in the next generation of fast, sensitive diagnostics approaches applicable to broad ranges of human diseases. These improvements necessitate new methodologies for isolation and detection of minute physiological quantities of biomarker molecules at previously unachievable levels of sensitivity, multi-parameter analysis, speed and reliability. The proposed projects hinge on effective interdisciplinary collaborations. The 'Nanobio' group at CRANN forms a nucleus of interdisciplinary researchers from the areas of physics, biophysics, surface chemistry, biochemistry, molecular biology and cell biology. The application is divided on two major sections, the first describing state-of-the-art-single biomolecule manipulations with optical tweezers and the second describing the utilization of label-free cantilever array sensors devices for basic science and applied diagnostics.